The Kiri shinobi recognized at once where that sphere of light had come from.
They knew it too well.
After all, they had seen it many times before.
"Shameless Suna ninja! Using our Kirigakure blade to kill Kirigakure shinobi!"
"You'll be punished for this!"
Some of the Kiri shinobi even began to hate Hiramekarei itself.
"A blade of Kirigakure… actually being wielded by a Suna ninja like this…"
They were furious—so furious it felt as though they had been violated.
But very soon, they no longer had the leisure to think about such things.
Because a much more serious problem had appeared.
The instant the sphere of light touched them, they felt the moisture within their bodies being drawn out and evaporated at terrifying speed.
Their bodies began to shrivel before the naked eye.
Their vitality was fading away.
The Kiri shinobi's eyes widened, full of disbelief.
"What is this?"
"Is that really still Hiramekarei?"
Pakura looked at the condition of the Kiri shinobi opposite her, and her brow lifted slightly.
"Your Kirigakure blades are quite useful."
"Not only do they possess their own power… but when released, the attacks they create can also carry the properties of my Scorch Release, greatly increasing my range and area of attack."
"It suits me perfectly."
"I can almost feel Hiramekarei rejoicing as well."
More than a dozen Kiri shinobi died in a single move from Pakura.
Using Baki as bait, they had set a small trap.
Their real target, of course, had not been those Kiri shinobi—
but that Hyuga branch-house ninja.
With the blind spot of the Hyuga branch house's Byakugan, Pakura had quietly approached and struck.
"Master's wife."
Pakura nodded.
"Well done, Baki."
Baki smiled.
"It was all your work, Master's wife. I didn't do anything."
"In front of me, there is no need to be modest. Without you, I wouldn't have had such an easy chance to kill that Hyuga ninja."
"You are my husband's disciple. That makes you my disciple as well."
Suddenly, Pakura stopped speaking and turned to look in a certain direction.
A figure was rapidly approaching, followed by dozens more.
The one in front—
Yagura.
Pakura narrowed her eyes.
After Tongcao Yebairen and the others had died, Yagura had become the new commander.
The two of them had already crossed hands before.
Even Pakura had to admit that Yagura's Water Mirror Technique was troublesome.
"Pakura!"
The moment Yagura saw the corpses on the ground—especially that Hyuga branch-house member—his face darkened.
This was not like losing ordinary Kiri shinobi.
Those could be replenished.
But a Hyuga ninja?
That depended on Konoha sending more over.
And Konoha could not endlessly provide Kirigakure with Hyuga shinobi.
Especially now, with those recent rumors spreading, the Hyuga were even less willing to support Kirigakure.
Which meant replacing even one Hyuga ninja would be extremely difficult.
Among the Kiri army, Hyuga ninja were of immense value.
Yagura's gaze shifted again, falling on Hiramekarei on Pakura's back.
His expression darkened further.
She had killed Kiri ninja.
Stolen one of Kirigakure's blades.
And now she was brazenly carrying that blade into battle, using it to slaughter Kirigakure's people.
Pakura gestured to Baki.
"Baki, fall back."
"Yes, Master's wife."
Pakura gripped Hiramekarei's hilt and drew it.
In the next instant, battle erupted.
"Scorch Release!"
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
A figure identical to Pakura appeared.
Not only did it copy Pakura herself—
it even copied the Hiramekarei in her hands.
An identical body.
An identical blade.
An identical ninjutsu.
Even the power was the same.
That was the foundation of Yagura's confidence—the reason he could look almost any opponent in the eye and say, we're fifty-fifty.
But as monstrous as the Water Mirror Technique was, it had a flaw.
Its chakra consumption was enormous.
In a battle of equal intensity, Yagura's chakra expenditure would always be far greater than his opponent's.
"As expected of Pakura!"
Yagura could feel the chakra in his body pouring away as if floodgates had opened.
"My current chakra reserves aren't enough."
"If only I could become a jinchūriki…"
"With that—and with Teacher's research results—I could become something close to a perfect jinchūriki. The amount of chakra I could use would rise drastically."
"Even if the Water Mirror Technique consumes more chakra, my opponent still wouldn't outlast me."
"What a pity…"
"For now, I'll have to let the others assist."
Ninja had never truly been a profession of one-on-one duels.
Teamwork was the norm.
Unless your allies were so weak they only dragged you down.
"Judging by the time, Biwa Jūzō should be arriving soon."
"If Jūzō gets here, then with the two of us together… we might have a chance to kill Pakura and take Hiramekarei back."
"Sunagakure used Baki as bait to make Kirigakure fall into a trap."
"But hasn't Yagura been doing the same? Using that Hyuga ninja as bait to lure Sunagakure in?"
"It's just that I never expected Pakura to kill so fast."
"She actually combined Scorch Release with Hiramekarei's power."
That left Yagura deeply displeased.
Hiramekarei was Kirigakure's blade—
yet in Pakura's hands, after only a few days, she was already using it so well.
Yagura no longer held back on chakra. He poured everything into attacking and pinning down Pakura—
all while waiting for Biwa Jūzō to arrive.
But what Yagura had not expected was that before Jūzō reached him, an intelligence ninja would arrive first.
"Lord Yagura! Bad news!"
An intelligence ninja rushed toward them at top speed.
"What is it?"
The intelligence ninja spoke quickly.
"The Kaguya Clan has issued a declaration. They claim that Konoha really did betray the Hyuga Clan and handed the Byakugan to Kirigakure. They say that Hyuga main-house member's death was jointly orchestrated by Konoha and Kirigakure."
"They say Kirigakure never wanted a ceasefire, so it proposed harsh terms—using the Byakugan as one of the conditions, just like Kirigakure demanded Sunagakure hand over Pakura."
"But they never expected Konoha would actually agree."
"They say the Kaguya Clan, because of its generations-long friendship with the Hyuga and because it understood the importance of the Byakugan to the Hyuga Clan, clashed with Kirigakure over the matter."
"They swore it on the Kaguya name!"
In an instant, Yagura's expression changed drastically.
Because he knew that once the Kaguya Clan's declaration was made public, it would inevitably deal a massive blow to Konoha.
And that blow would certainly drag Kirigakure into it as well.
For one brief moment, Yagura lost his grip on the Water Mirror Technique.
The fake Pakura shattered instantly.
Pakura's eyes lit up.
"An opening!"
At once, a huge amount of chakra surged into Hiramekarei.
"Hiramekarei—Release!"